USA > Iowa > Iowa County > The history of Iowa County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
It would be entirely unnecessary to explain to early settlers who were these United States dragoons who guarded the border. Though the early settlers of the county who still remain are well advanced in years, and their recollection of early events is gradually becoming lost in the grathering gloom of passing years, few there are, doubtless, but will fully appreciate the significance of the term " dragoon"; and who can, at this late date, call back to memory the picture of these dignified and pompous, yet brave and honorable, individuals, who were alike a terror to the predatory savages, and to the covetous claim-hunter. The children of the pioneer, and those persons who came to this country in later years, have not been accustomed to associate with these doughty champions of law and order, and, for the benefit of such, a word of explanation will be in order.
The term dragoon originated in England many years ago, and was ap- plied to a certain species of cavalry soldiers who rode swift horses, went lightly armed, and whose business it was to scour the king's dominions
296
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
and, by menace or actual deeds of violence, awe the obstinate Saxon into submission.
Their first appearance in America was during the progress of the Revo- lutionary War, when they performed important service by inaking long and rapid excursions through the country within the American lines, and thus keeping open a line of communication with the Tories who were scat- tered throughout the country. What the Cossack is to the Russian army, and what Mosby and Forrest's swift riders were to the Confederate army, that the dragoons were to the English soldiery. When the war of Inde- pendence closed, and the colonists became a free and independent nation, it. became necessary for the republic to organize an army, and, in the organi- zation of that army, that of England was taken as a model; and not only English tactics, but likewise English military terms, were appropriated. The term dragoon is no longer used in military parlance, but from the or- ganization of the standing army till some time after the close of the Mexi- can War the dragoon was an important, and what was supposed to be an indispensable, factor in the service. Their peculiar mission for more than fifty years was to lead the van of civilization, and act as umpire in cases of dispute between the pioneer and the savage. In time of war they en- circled the scattered settlements like a wall of fire, and many a defenseless. settler owed the protection of his life and that of the members of his fam- ily to these men. They fully understood the Indian character and the In- dian tactics, and under ordinary circumstances one dragoon was considered a match for five Indians. In times of peace the dragoon knew no friends, and he was as swift in administering punishment upon the trespassing set- tler as upon the the savage Indian. One day his mission would be to pur- sue a band of hostile savages who had left their reservation and menaced the life and property of the settler; the next day, perchance, his task would be to search out the aggressive squatter, who, ignoring Indian treaties, had erected a cabin across the boundary line; when he found such, the dragoon would invariably burn the cabin and drive the squatter back across the boundary line.
Such were thecharacteristics of the men upon whom devolved the arduous. and critical task of keeping back the tide of immigration which surged along the imaginary line established by the treaty of 1837. This line has already been spoken of and crossed the southeastern corner of what is now Iowa county, cutting off that portion of what is now Greene township where Mr. Ricord settled. Near this boundary line the excitement was intense as the time approached when it would be lawful to cross over and possess- the goodly heritage beyond.
As it neared midnight on the morning of May the first, settler after set- tler took his place along the border of a claim before selected, with sharp- ened stakes and a lantern or blazing torch, and when it was thought that twelve o'clock had arrived there was some lively surveying by amateur en- gineers in the dark.
An early settler thus describes the scene as it was presented in a county south of this:
"Precisely at midnight the loud report of the musket, fired from the Agency House, announced that the empire of the red man had ended for- ever, and that of his master race had begun. Answering reports rang sharply on the night air, in quick succession, from every hill-top, and in every valley, till the signal was conveyed for miles around, and all under-
297
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
stood that civilization had now commenced her reign in central Iowa. The moon was slowly sinking in the west, and its beams afforded a feeble and uncertain light for the measurement of claims in which so many were en- gaged. Ere long the landscape was shrouded in darkness, save the wild and fitful glaring of the torches, carried by the claim-makers. Before the night had entirely worn away the rough surveys were finished, and the In- dian lands had found new tenants. Throughout the country thousands of acres were laid off in claims before dawn. Settlers rushed in by hundreds and the region lately so tranquil and silent felt the impulse of the change and became vocal with sounds of industry and enterprise."
The claims were paced off, and strange to say, there were very few cases of dispute, the matter having been pretty well understood on the preced- ing day. Some of these claims were pretty large, more, in fact, than the law suffered the claimants to hold, the pioneers being not unmindful of the advice of a mother in Hoosierdom who possibly lived in a later day, but counseled " Git a plenty while you'r gittin'," to which the claim-hunter added, "And get the best."
FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
The first settlements in Iowa county, like those of other counties in the State, were made in or near the timber. "Yes," said an old farmer with whom the writer recently conversed, "when we came to this county we thought we couldn't live away from the timber, and I wouldn't have given twenty-five cents an acre for the best prairie in the county."
As timber was originally found only in strips or small groves along the water-courses, we find that the first settlements were made along or in the vicinity of these streams, not on the banks of these streams as a general thing, but in or near the timber which grew in the vicinity of them. Owing to the abrupt turns in the various streams, and especially at those places where they neared larger streams, the belt of timber spreads out, and viewed from the wide stretch of prairie beyond, presents the appearance of detatched groves; such places were in early times called "points" or groves, and these were the beginnings of civilization. These groves formed the nuclei of the first settlements, and around them cluster the facts of the county's early history.
The grove extending to the north and west from Ricord's settlement be- came largely settled by emigrants from the Emerald Isle, and was known by the name of the Irish settlement.
Further to the north and west in an extension of the same timber was the Scotch settlement.
Near the east line of the county, immediately south of the Iowa River, in the vicinity of what is now Homestead was the Brush Run settle- ment.
In the northwest corner of the county in the vicinity of where is now the town of Koszta was the settlement at first known as Hoosier Grove and afterward went by the name of "The Hench Settlement."
All the way from Hoosier Grove to the east line of the county, along the timber which skirted the Iowa River, and on both sides of that stream claims were taken at an early day and improvements were begun. South of the river, about four miles southeast of the present site of Marengo, was
298
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
the old trading house which was the center of interest and industry for some time.
In the south part of the county, near where Millersburg is now located, was the English settlement, so named from the English River which flows through that region of country, and which doubtless was named before the county was settled.
EARLY SETTLERS.
As before remarked, the first settler was Edward R. Ricord, whose claim was on Old Man's Creek in the southeast part of the county. He was afterward joined by his two brothers, Jacob and Elisha. Elisha has gone west and is now engaged in railroad building in Colorado; Jacob is at pres- ent engaged in the boot and shoe business in Iowa City. It is a matter of record that Jacob Ricord, in November, 1845, entered the southwest quar- ter of the northeast quarter of section 4, and Elisha Ricord some time after entered the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter and the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of the same section, all within the present bounds of Greene township. This then was probably their home during the early history of the county, as in those early days land was seldom en- tered by speculators, and those who did buy land purchased it for a home.
As the entry made by Elisha Ricord was some years later than that made by Jacob, it is probable that Elisha did not settle in the county as- early as Jacob.
Among the other settlers who settled on Old Man's Creek at the earliest times was a family by the name of Convers. Erastus Convers voted at the first election at Old Man's Creek in August, 1845, and it appears that William and Elizabeth Convers entered some land in that locality a short time afterward; the land in question was the northeast quarter of the south- east quarter of section 3. Therefore it may be stated as a historical fact that the Convers family located immediately east of where the Ricords settled. With the exception of the entries made by Convers and the Ri- cords, no land was bought in the present bounds of Greene township prior to the year 1849. Immediately north of Old Man's Creek, in what is now York township, in the same settlement, Henry Starry, Michael Duffey and Clark Jones bought land prior to 1849, and their names appear as voters at the first election in 1845. Mr. Duffey, now well advanced in years, still. resides near the place where he first erected his cabin more than thirty-five years ago.
Edward Spratt and John Convey were also settlers here prior to August, 1845. Convey was an industrious and thrifty man, and continued to re- side in the vicinity of his first claim until the time of his death, which oc- curred some eight years since. James McKray, another early settler, now lives in Johnson county. Michael Roup and Reuben Smith were also. among the first settlers. These names include all who came into that part of the county and settled prior to August, 1845. Subsequently to 1845 the. following persons settled: Edmond Butler, John Furlong, William Butler, John Wykoff, Evan Evans, Joseph Yocum, Thomas Hanson, Stephen Han -. son. The aforenamed persons were all bona fide settlers in the vicinity of Old Man's Creek prior to 1849.
The place where these earliest settlers first held their elections was at the house of Edward R. Ricord, and until 1847 the precinct was called Old
299
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
Man's Creek precinct; at the time last mentioned the name was changed to Greene precinct and has gone by that name ever since.
The house where the early settlers first assembled to transact business, hold political caucuses and vote was not the first house in which Mr. Ricord lived on coming to the county, but was his second dwelling-house. On com- ing to the county in 1841 or 1842 he located just north of the creek, where he erected a cabin; after living there some little time, probably one year, and the family being troubled with the ague, he moved south of the stream and erected a house on an elevated site which overlooked the valley of Old Man's Creek from the south. The house was a double log cabin. A dou- ble log cabin was not a house with walls consisting of a double row of logs as the term would seem to imply, but two log cabins built close together with gables facing and both under the same roof. Such a house when com- pleted consisted of two rooms with an open court between. This was the headquarters of the first settlers on Old Man's Creek.
Thomas Hanson, who located in this settlement in early times, still lives there; he is of Irish descent and the jolly Irishman is as well and as favora- bly known as any man in the county. Duffey, McKray, Spratt and Convey were also Irishmen, and from the fact that so many of that nationality set- tled there, the locality was known as the Irish settlement.
We fully realize that the task of tracing out these first settlements so as to accurately and fully give a history of each individual making them, is a difficult one; in proportion as the reader understands the magnitude and difficulty of the work, to that extent we will have his sympathy and forbear- ance.
The data upon which we found our supposed facts consist mainly of notes taken by our agents, who have visited every part of the county, and if the narrative should, in some particulars, seem to the reader to be incorrect, we wish to remind him that the particular fact which he questions is founded on the statement of some one individual who resides in the imme- diate neighborhood, and, in all probability, substantiated by the best evi- dence obtainable; such persons should remember that they are as liable to be mistaken as their neighbors, and that in the little circumscribed realm, of their own neighborhood, even as in the boundless realm of the universe, "Truth is stranger than fiction."
At this place, however, it is not our intention to give an elaborate and detailed account of the first settlements; such an account will be given in connection with each township history, where it properly belongs; at this place it is our purpose to give a brief and general outline.
Soon after the Indian title was extinguished the most desirable claims along the Iowa River were taken by settlers, who, coming from the East, pushed up the stream in quest of conquest.
The first persons to settle along the Iowa river were the following: Lewis F. Wilson, John Lenderman, William Taylor, Stephen Chase, Ed- ward Trotter, Lineas Niles, N. W. Dowd, William McCorkle, Abraham Price, Isaac Clark, M. T. Cleveland, Benjamin Hutchinson, Anderson Mea- cham, Lewis Lanning, William Foster, R. M. Hutchinson, Charles Kitch - ens. A. P. Kitchens, G. W. Kitchens, T. W. Kitchens, R. B. Groff, Robert McKee, John Burgett, M. T. Cleveland, Howard Sprague, Porter Hull, Orley Hull, Amos Crocker, William Betts, Robert Greeley, a man named Furnas, one named Snyder, John Adams, David Troup, George Troup, Mr. Casey, the step-father of the Troups, Andrew Stein, John Irvin, R. F
300
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
Mason, a man named Hallopeter, Mr. Wannemacher, William Downard and William Hench.
In the vicinity of the present site of Homestead the first settlers were Lineas Niles, John Burgett and M. T. Cleveland; the latter emigrated to California in 1850. Burgett is dead. Porter Hull and Orley Hull were there also at a very early time; the former now resides in Marengo; the lat- ter kept a hotel for some time in the vicinity of Homestead, and then emi- grated to Oregon in 1850.
Howard Sprague and a number of others of that name also settled there; they have all emigrated to other parts of the country. William Crawford, another one, moved from Homestead to Marengo and then to Hardin county in this State. Mr. Crawford was a member of the second board of county commissioners, which entered upon the duties of that office in August, 1846.
The old trading house was the headquarters of quite a number of settlers from 1843 to 1846. In 1837 the government found it necessary to estab- lish an agency for the benefit of the Musquakie and Pottawattamie Indians, whose home was there in the portion of Iowa Territory now comprehended in part by Iowa county. A section of land was fenced, part of it was plowed and some buildings, collectively known as the trading house, were erected. The management of the trading house was under the direction of a man named Patterson. The trading house stood on section 35, township 81, range 10.
On the removal of the Indians the government at first leased the prem- ises to certain settlers; William Downard opened up a store of general merchandise there and Charles Kitchens cultivated the land.
On the eleventh day of October, 1845, R. M. Hutchinson purchased the land and buildings of the government and this place became the property of a private individual. The trading house was situated about midway from the Homestead settlement, and from the present site of Marengo, and was the place where all the settlers along the Iowa River at first went to vote. All that region of country was called Iowa precinct, and the old trading house might properly be termed the capital of the precinct; in fact it was, for some time, really the capital of the county, for there was the place where the official meetings of the county commissioners were held for some time.
So much in regard to the old trading house; and with respect to the first settlers there it may be remarked that the Kitchens who first farmed the land afterward moved further west and erected a saw mill on Bear Creek; their career will be further noticed elsewhere; Mr. Downard, who first es- tablished a store there was led to select the location by a circumstance re- lated by himself as follows: £ Mr. Downard was born near London, Eng- land, and early in life entered upon commercial pursuits in that great com- mercial metropolis of the world. After having learned considerable about merchandising he concluded to emigrate to America and arriving in this country located at Iowa City where he was employed as clerk in a store kept by a Mr. Andrews. One day when the proprietor was away R. F. Mason, who but a short time before had settled in this county just across the river from where Marengo now is, called at the store and purchased some goods. In payment for the goods Mr. Mason tendered a draft to the amount of $250. Mr. Downard not being familiar with the law governing
301
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
commercial paper in America accepted the draft but neglected to have Mr. Mason indorse it.
When the proprietor returned he noticed the neglect and dispatched Mr. Downard after Mr. Mason to get the indorsement. He did not find him till some days afterward when he found him cutting wood in the timber just across the river from Marengo, or rather where Marengo now is, as there was no town or settlement there then. Having found Mr. Mason the two repaired to the cabin, but unexpectedly there arose some difficulty about the indorsement; not from any unwillingness on Mason's part but from the fact that there was no ink in the house, none in the settlement and proba- bly none in the county. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and Mr. Downard noticing a soap kettle proceeded to scrape off from the outside of that useful utensil some soot from which he soon manufactured ink enough for his purpose.
Having accomplished the object of his journey he sauntered leisurely back, noting carefully the country and its settlements and by the time he got back he had made up his mind to embark in business on his own re- sponsibility and selected the trading house as his location.
Mr. Andrews, desiring to quit business, Mr. Downard purchased his stock of goods and removed it to the trading house where commenced the first business enterprise of his life and probably the first individual business enterprise of Iowa county.
After conducting the store at the trading house for about one year, and having disposed of all his goods, Mr. Downard removed to the then new town of Marengo and started a new store, a further account of which we give elsewhere.
R. M. Hutchinson, who purchased the old trading house and the land upon which it was situated was a great man, probably the greatest man in the county at early times. He was great in reputation, because he was a member of the first honorable board of county commissioners; but not only great in name, but also great in appearance was he, for he was six feet and eight inches in height; great also in his attainment, for he attained a wife who was in height six feet and three inches.
It was this same Hutchinson who by reason of his greatness was employed by the sheriff to elevate the members of the grand jury up through a trap door into the second story of Mr. Groff's house, where the second session of the honorable District Court had its sitting.
Further up the river, on the south side, the next settlement was at Ma- rengo. The location of the county seat at this place had principally to do with its early settlement, and many of the facts of interest connected with the settlement, as well as the facts relating to the county seat, will more pro- perly belong to our chapter on the "Organization of the county." At this place it may be proper, however, to speak of Robert McKee, Mr. Downard and R. B. Groff and others whose settlement at Marengo was anterior to the laying out of the town. Robert McKee located in the vicinity of Ma- rengo early in 1845 before the county seat was located.
Upon arriving there he found a rude cabin, supposed to have been erected by a Mormon, and the cabin having no occupant, and Mr. McKee having no cabin it seemed very fit and proper for the man who had no cabin and the cabin which had no occupant to "pool their issues" and accordingly Mr. McKee moved in. Mr. McKee soon after erected a new house, and this was the first building erected in the vicinity of Marengo, although it was
302
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
not on the original town site. The house originally erected still stands on the old site and is now within the corporate limits of Marengo. Mr. McKee established and for many years operated a ferry across the Iowa River at Marengo. The ferry was located near the foot of the street where the house stands. To this early settler belongs the honor of having been the first postmaster of Marengo; he was commissioned in March, 1846. Mr. McKee died some years ago and his estimable widow still resides in the house originally erected by her husband. Through nearly thirty-five years old, and built when lumber and all kinds of material were very scarce, and money scarcer still, the old house with its subsequent improvements is well preserved and affords a very snug home for the old, afflicted and honored lady.
We have already spoken of Mr. Downard's business venture at the old trading house. After having been there about one year he determined to move up to the proposed site of the county seat. This determination was not arrived at without certain misgivings. Not a single house had yet been erected on the town site and there were no preparations for building owing to a difficulty about the ownership of the land, an account of which will be given in our chapter on "county organization." Moreover there was al- ready one store or "grocery," further up the river, beyond the proposed town site, kept by Mr. Hull. His doubts, however, were removed by the other store-keeper. It seems Mr. Hull was on his way to Iowa City and called to stay over night with Mr. Downard. In those days it was quite a treat to have a person stay over night with a settler, and in the morning, after Mr. Downard was sincerely thanked for his admirable hospitality, Mr. Hull negotiated for a loan of two dollars and a half from his host. Mr. Downard, who had about decided to locate in Marengo, thought it policy to make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness and made the loan. Mr. Hull laid out the money borrowed in the purchase of a new and full line of goods, and when Downard opened up his new store he had to complete with a stock of goods purchased with his own money.
When Mr. Downard determined to locate in the new county seat town the first thing to be done was to erect a store-room and dwelling-house. For economy, as well as expedition, he decided to build both store-house and dwelling-house on the same lot and under the same roof. The two con- sisted of one room eighteen feet long and sixteen feet wide. The building was located on out-lot No. 8 and was a short distance west of the public square. This was the first building erected on the original town site and was constructed before there was any saw mill in the county. The lumber was transported by ox team from Wassonville, in Washington county, where was located the nearest saw mill.
Having completed his residence and moved into it with his family, his store-room which, of course, was completed at the same time was supplied with a stock of goods consisting of dry goods, groceries, hardware, drugs, agricultural implements, musical instruments, books, stationery and pro- visions.
The first article sold was from the hosiery department and consisted of a pair of white stockings which he sold to a lady residing up the river for three picayunes which were to be paid "next fall if they had a good crop."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.